1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to buildings heated by solar energy and in particular to buildings wherein water which has been heated by solar energy is conveyed to various portions of the building so as to provide heat where required.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various structures are known wherein elements of a building such as its walls, floors, or ceilings have passageways constructed therein which act as conduits for fluid flow, such as water or air.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,559,198 to Ogden discloses a prefabricated section of a floor equipped with suitable tubes for the circulation of a heating or cooling medium. The tubes are embedded into the sections.
As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,257,481 to Dobson discloses a concrete element having pipes embedded therein as conduits for water. As a further example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,332 to McHugh discloses a building having a solar heating system integrated in the architecture of the building.
Other known prior art includes solar collectors in which heat from the sun raises the temperature of a liquid flowing through a conduit, heat pumps for the transfer of heat from one system to another so as to raise the temperature of the latter system above that of the former system, heat accumulators wherein a liquid whose temperature has been raised is stored for subsequent heating of other elements, and devices wherein heat is transferred from one liquid system to a neighboring liquid system through suitable membranes.
However, the prior art does not disclose prefabricated structural members such as walls in which an efficient allocation is made between the elements embedded in the prefabricated structural member and the elements which may be installed within the prefabricated structural member after the latter has been put into place.